THE DRAINED BRAINS CAPER

From the Chicagoland Detective Agency series, volume 1

Age Range: 8 - 12

Thirteen-year-old Megan Yamamura is new in Chicagoland. She had a bit of trouble in her last school when she accidentally set off the sprinkler system (burning a haiku written to a boy who wasn't worth it). Now she attends the Stepford Preparatory Academy, where the kids are a bit too smiley. When Megan, a vegetarian, refuses to eat the swill served in the school cafeteria (and kind of starts a food fight), her father takes her to see psychiatrist Dr. Vorschak. However, Dr. Vorschak’s not what she appears to be; soon Megan is in dire need of assistance. Good thing she made one near-friend in Raf Hernandez, who works at his mother’s pet-supply store. Together with talking dog Bradley, who learned English from watching detective movies, the newly christened Chicagoland Detective Agency solves the case! Underground-comix icon Robbins pens a passable origin story for the first volume of this new series, and Page’s manga-influenced black-and-white panels are a good match. With the setup accomplished, readers can hope that now the actual mysteries can begin. (Graphic mystery. 8-12)